Were Losing the War Against Radical Islam

byNEWTGINGRICHMarch26,20154:00AM
Congress needsastrategy todefeat bothviolent andcultural
jihad.
On Tuesday, the House Committee on Homeland Security,
undertheleadershipofChairmanMichaelMcCaul,heldthefirst
ofaseriesofveryimportanthearingsonthethreatofradical
Islamism.
As I told the committee in my testimony, it is vital that the
UnitedStatesCongressundertakeathorough,noholdsbarred
reviewofthelong,globalwarinwhichwearenowengaged
with radical Islamists. This review will require a number of
committees to coordinate, since it will have to include
Intelligence, Armed Services, Foreign Affairs, Judiciary, and
HomelandSecurityataminimum.Therearethreekey,sobering
observationsaboutwherewearetodaywhichshouldforcethis
thorough,noholdsbarredreviewofoursituation.Thesethree
points which are backed up by the facts suggest the
UnitedStatesisdriftingintoacrisisthatcouldchallengeour
verysurvival.First,itisthecasethatafter35yearsofconflict
datingbacktotheIranianseizureoftheAmericanembassyin
Tehranandtheensuinghostagecrisis,theUnitedStatesandits
alliesarelosingthelong,globalwarwithradicalIslamists.We
arelosingtoboththeviolentjihadandtotheculturaljihad.
TheviolentjihadhasshownitselfrecentlyinParis,Australia,
Tunisia, Syria, Iraq, Libya, Egypt, Gaza, Nigeria, Somalia,
Afghanistan, and Yemen, to name just some of the most
prominentareasofviolence.
RELATED:YemenMessSparksaFullFledgedRegionalWar
Cultural jihad is more insidious and in many ways more
dangerous.Itstrikesatourveryabilitytothinkandtohavean
honestdialogueabout the steps necessary for our survival.
Cultural jihad is winning when the Department of Defense

describes a terrorist attack at Fort Hood as workplace

violence.Culturaljihadiswinningwhenthepresidentrefersto
randomkillingsinPariswhentheywereclearlytheactionsof
Islamistterroristsandtargetedagainstspecificgroups.Cultural
jihad is winning when the administration censors training
documents and lecturers according to sensitivity so that
theycannotdescriberadicalIslamistswithanyreferencetothe
religiousideologywhichistheprimarybondthatunitesthem.
Inthe14yearssincethe9/11attacks,wehavegonealongway
downtheroadofintellectuallyandmorallydisarminginorder
toappeasetheculturaljihadists,whoareincreasinglyaggressive
inassertingtheirrighttodefinehowtherestofusthinkandtalk.
RELATED: Why ISIS will Attack America Second, it is the
case that, in an extraordinarily dangerous pattern, our
intelligence system has been methodically limited and
manipulated to sustain false narratives while suppressing or
rejectingfactsandanalysisaboutthosewhowouldkillus.For
example,thereisclearevidencetheAmericanpeoplehavebeen
givenremarkablymisleadinganalysisaboutalQaedabasedona
verylimitedtranslationandpublicationofabout24ofthe1.5
milliondocumentscapturedintheBinLadenraid.Anumberof
outsideanalystshavesuggestedthattheselectivereleaseofa
smallnumberofdocumentswasdesignedtomakethecasethat
alQaeda was weaker. These outside analysts assert that a
broader reading of more documents would indicate alQaeda
was doubling in size when our government claimed it was
getting weaker an analysis also supported by obvious
empiricalfactsontheground.Furthermore,therehasbeenwhat
could only be deliberate footdragging in exploiting this
extraordinarycacheofmaterial.BothLieutenantGeneralMike
Flynn,theformerheadoftheDefenseIntelligenceAgency,and
Colonel Derek Harvey, a leading analyst of terrorism, have
describedthedeliberatelymisleadingandrestrictedaccesstothe
BinLadendocuments.Anumberofintelligenceoperativeshave
described censorship from above designed to make sure that

intelligencewhichunderminestheofficialnarrativesimplydoes
not see the light of day. Congress should explore legislation
whichwouldmakeitillegaltoinstructintelligencepersonnelto
falsifyinformationoranalysis.BasingAmericansecuritypolicy
onpoliticallydefineddistortionsofrealityisaverydangerous
habit which could someday lead to a devastating defeat.
CongresshasanobligationtoensuretheAmericanpeopleare
learningthetruthandhaveanopportunitytodebatepotential
policiesinafactbasedenvironment.
Third, it is the case that our political elites have refused to
define our enemies. Their willful ignorance has made it
impossibletodevelopaneffectivestrategytodefeatthosewho
woulddestroyourcivilization.Forexample,thepresidentsown
press secretary engages in verbal gymnastics to avoid
identifyingtheperpetratorsofviolenceasradicalIslamists.Josh
Earnestsaidthatsuchlabelsdonotaccuratelydescribeour
enemiesandthattousesuchalabellegitimizesthem.Thisis
Orwelliandoublespeak.TheradicalIslamistsdonotneedtobe
delegitimized.Theyneedtobedefeated.Wecannotdefeatwhat
wecannotname.
RELATED:TheIslamicStatesUtopianVisionTherehasbeen
a desperate desire among our elites to focus on the act of
terrorismratherthanthemotivationbehindthoseacts.
Therehasbeenadeepdesiretoavoidtheculturalandreligious
motivationsbehindthejihadistsactions.Thereisanamazing
hostility to any effort to study or teach the history of these
patternsgoingbacktotheseventhcentury.Becauseourelites
refuse to look at the religious and historic motivations and
patternswhichdriveouropponents,wearerespondingthesame
waytoattackafterattackonourwayoflifewithoutanyregard
for learning about what really motivates our attackers. Only
oncewelearnwhatdrivesandinformsouropponentswillwe
notrepeatthesamewrongresponsetactics,GroundhogDay
like,andfinallystarttowinthislongwar.Currentlyeachnew

event,eachnewgroup,eachnewpatternistreatedasthoughits
anisolatedphenomenonasifitsnotpartofalargerstruggle
withalonghistoryanddeeprootsinpatternsthatare1,400
years old. There is a passion for narrowing and localizing
actions.TheearlyfocuswasalQaeda.ThenitwastheTaliban.
NowitistheIslamicState.ItisbeginningtobeBokoHaram.
Aslongastheelitescankeeptreatingeachneweruptionasa
freestandingphenomenon,theycanavoidhavingtorecognize
thatthisisaglobal,worldwidemovementthatisdecentralized
but not disordered. There are ties between Minneapolis and
Mogadishu. There are ties between London, Paris, and the
IslamicState.AlQaedaexistsinmanyformsandundermany
names. We are confronted by worldwide recruiting on the
Internet,withIslamistsreachingouttopeoplewewouldnever
haveimaginedwerevulnerabletothatkindofappeal.
RELATED:WhatIstheAntidotetoRadicalIslam?Wehave
beenrefusingtoapplytheinsightsandlessonsofhistory,but
ourenemieshavebeenverywillingtostudy,learn,rethink,and
evolve.Theculturaljihadistshavelearnedourlanguageandour
principlesfreedomofspeech,freedomofreligion,tolerance
andtheyapplythemtodefeatuswithoutbelievinginthem
themselves. We blindly play their game on their terms, and
donteventhinkabouthowabsurditisforpeoplewhoaccept
nochurch,nosynagogue,notempleintheirheartlandtocome
into our society and define multicultural sensitivity totally to
theiradvantagemeaning,inessence,thatwecannotcriticize
their ideas. Our elites have been morally and intellectually
disarmed by their own unwillingness to look at both the
immediatehistoryofthefirst35yearsoftheglobalwarwith
radicalIslamistsandthentolookdeeperintotherootsofthe
ideology and the militarypolitical system our enemies draw
upon as their guide to waging both physical and cultural
warfare.OneofthegreatthreatstoAmericanindependenceis
thesteadygrowthofforeignmoneypouringintoourintellectual
and political systems to influence our thinking and limit our

optionsforaction.Congressneedstoadoptnewlawstoprotect
theUnitedStatesfromthekindofforeigninfluenceswhichare
growing in size and boldness. Sun Tzu, in The Art of War,
written 500 years before Christ, warned that all warfare is
basedondeception.Wearecurrentlyinaperiodwhereour
enemiesaredeceivingusandourelitesareactivelydeceiving
themselves and us. The deception and dishonesty of our
elitesisnotaccidentaloruninformed.Itisdeliberateandwillful.
Theflowofforeignmoneyandforeigninfluenceisasignificant
partofthatpatternofdeception.Wemustclearlydefineour
enemies before we can begin to develop strategies to defeat
them. We have lost 35 years since this war began. We are
weakerandourenemiesarestronger.Congresshasadutyto
pursuethetruthandtothinkthroughthestrategiesneededand
the structures which will be needed to implement those
strategies.NewtGingrichwasspeakeroftheU.S.Houseof
Representativesfrom1995to1999.
Readmoreat:
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/415984/werelosingwar
againstradicalislamnewtgingrich